ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – They were three IndyCar winners walking through the paddock of the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, but they could have been three buddies heading to the city’s nearby fishing pier.
Sporting matching black bucket hats with the Andretti Global logo, Marcus Ericsson, Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood seemed to be getting along swimmingly ahead of their first race together as one of the grid’s most intriguing new combinations.
It seemed as if the addition of the amiable Ericsson already might be having a collegial impact on a team that occasionally has been fraught with chemistry issues in recent years.
“That’s what Marcus brings to the team,” Herta deadpanned to NBC Sports. “Bucket hats. That’s about it.”
Gone fishin’, gone wrong 🤪 pic.twitter.com/SfmPgnX0gy
— Andretti INDYCAR & INDY NXT (@AndrettiIndy) March 13, 2024
After a successful four-year run at Chip Ganassi Racing that includes a 2022 Indianapolis 500 victory, Ericsson is bringing much more substance than style to Andretti Global.
Since breaking through for his first win three years ago, he has emerged as a consistent championship threat with three consecutive sixth place finishes in the points. At 34 years old, he still has more Formula One starts (97) than in IndyCar (80), bringing a worldly veteran presence to Herta, 23, and Kirkwood, 25.
But beyond all the driving attributes, Ericsson also brings an affable, benevolent and unthreatening nature that has made him among the most likable with his driving peers – and already had laid the groundwork with his new teammates.
“They’re both very easygoing guys, it’s been fun to get to know them a bit more,” Ericsson said of Herta and Kirkwood. “Obviously, I knew them from before, but to get to work with them it’s been really good. I feel like we as a team have a very strong lineup with us three so if we can work together and sort of push the team forward together, I think we are in for a really, really good season.
“I definitely feel like I’m the experienced guy. I’m almost 10 years older than both of them, so I feel I can take a bit of a leadership role because of that, but at the same time, both Colton and Kyle (have) been with Andretti for all their careers pretty much, so they obviously know the team very well. So it’s a bit different there, but I really feel like the team is listening a lot to me. What I’ve got to say about the car, about what we need to focus on. And all my input is very, very well listened to so I feel I have a lot of responsibility, and that’s one of the big reasons why I wanted to come to Andretti to go into that role of being a leader.”
It’s a role that never would have been possible for Ericsson at Ganassi, which has been the house of six-time champion Scott Dixon for two decades.
Team owner Michael Andretti prefers to avoid labeling anyone as his lead driver (“There’s no leader; everybody’s treated exactly equally”), but he does see a good blend of dynamics.
“I think the other two have really been enjoying working with him and seeing his work ethic and the way he goes about things, and I think it’s going to rub off in them in a positive way,” Andretti said. “That’s what we were hoping, and I know when we were talking with Marcus (about joining the team), he was excited because he got along with the other two already.
“They go out to dinner together, they do stuff together, they communicate all the time together, and they’re understanding what the goal is here. They all want to beat each other, but they all want to work together to the point where they’re just racing each other and nobody else.”
Intrasquad squabbling has been a problem for Andretti, which had an infamous episode of Team Turmoil at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2022. Ericsson has replaced Romain Grosjean, whose public outbursts at team members were well documented during two winless seasons.
During preseason testing, Andretti said the dynamic has been more collaborative among his trio when optimizing their car setups.
“They trust each other,” he said. “So if one tries something, the others will just say, ‘Well, did Colton say that was good? Then let’s just put it on my car.’ We haven’t had that in a long time where the drivers all trust it.”
Having entered the series in 2019 as rookies together, Herta said he has no problem with deferring to Ericsson.
“It’s all positive stuff for me,” Herta said. “I don’t have to be a leader for the team or anything. I don’t feel like I get the role because I have superiority in the team for how long I’ve been here. I don’t feel like that at all. I think (Ericsson) brings great qualities and he’s a really fast racing driver. As long as he makes you better and makes the team better, there’s nothing against it.
“When you think about what he’s done in the sport, the Indy 500 win and a second place in the 500 last year, I think he’s going to be a real big asset to us in May, and he’s had a lot of success in this series, so hopefully getting some ideas of what he was doing at Ganassi and how it can help us out.”
Ericsson also believes he can bring some best practices from working with Dixon and two-time series champion Alex Palou at Ganassi.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be teammates with two of the best drivers in the field, so I learned a lot from both of them,” Ericsson said. “Kyle and Colton also are two of the most talented drivers in the field. So I’ve already learned from looking at their onboards, their data, so I’m looking forward to seeing where I can learn from their driving style. It’s a great opportunity for me. I’m really excited to get going.”
